LCMS Convention Workbook St. Louis, Missouri — 2019, Page 218

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II. THEOLOGICAL DOCUMENTS­­—COMMISSION ON THEOLOGY AND CHURCH RELATIONS
In addition to all the struggles of life in a fallen world,
the devil strives with particular rage and spite against
those baptized into Christ. Luther urged that pastors and
people approach Baptism with the utmost seriousness
for this reason: “Remember, therefore, that it is no joke
to take sides against the devil and not only to drive him
away from the little child [in Baptism], but to burden
the child with such a mighty and lifelong enemy” (AE
53:102). Thanks be to God that the Christian has both
the confidence that comes from saying, “I am baptized,”
and also is able to confess all sins and failures and receive
the assurance of God in the pastor’s voice in the absolution: “I forgive you all your sins.”24

CONCLUSION:
JESUS’ BAPTISMAL PROMISE TO US

I

n this document, we have explored how
Baptism brings us under the reign of Christ as
followers of Jesus. This transition into God’s kingdom
is frequently described in the New Testament in stark
and dramatic terms: new birth, death and resurrection,
rescue from the devil and safe passage through the final
judgment. It is a life in which we are brought under the
care and protection of God as our Creator, Redeemer
and Sanctifier.
This is not to say that the Christian life as a baptized
follower of Jesus is an easy life, at least not on this side
of heaven. (Recall that life was not easy for Jesus Himself, nor for His disciples!) It is not a life in which God
promises that we will prosper financially or always be
healthy or that all of our relationships work out just as
we intended. To the contrary, Christians (just like their
non-Christian neighbors) live in a broken world, a world
infected by sin and subjected by God to pain, frustration
and futility because of sin (Gen. 3:16–19; Rom. 8:20–21).

At times, our lives are filled with successes, joys and
hope as we reap the benefits of living in God’s creation,
which He blesses and for which He still graciously cares.
“In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk
in their own ways. Yet he did not leave himself without
witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven
and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and
gladness” (Acts 14:16–17). We see God providing nourishing sunshine and rain to both the righteous and the
unrighteous (Matt. 5:45).

THE THEOLOGY AND PRACTICE OF HOLY BAPTISM

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At other times, our lives might be characterized by
disappointments, setbacks and inexplicable tragedies.
These are times when it may become very difficult to
trust that God will keep His promises to us. These are
times when we want God to give us clear and immediate
answers to our questions and good, sensible reasons for
His actions (or His apparent inaction). These are times
when there may seem to be no point in believing in God
and we may be tempted to reject Him altogether. In this
sense, life is often more tragic than “comedic” (to use
Shakespearian terms) — things don’t always work out by
the end of the day.
This is why baptized and believing Christians live
by faith — faith in Christ’s promise and not by the
proof of our eyes. We trust Christ to keep His promises,
no matter what we see, feel or experience. And so the
Christian life is a journey of living out that venture of
faith day by day. One who lives by faith can live without
having every question answered or every puzzle in life
resolved. Such (God-given!) baptismal faith enables us
to navigate the tragedies of life and not be crushed by
the unexpected events of life or threats to our faith that
inevitably come our way. When we fall by failing to trust
God, we repent by renouncing our desire for control and
embracing God’s baptismal promises to us again. When
tragedies occur, we lament (as God’s people have always
done) and take our complaints to Him. We can live with
the contingencies of life (good and bad) because we live
by faith, a faith that will be vindicated only when we are
raised from the dead on the Last Day.

CONCLUSION: JESUS’ BAPTISMAL PROMISE TO US

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No. In recent decades, some churches have decided
to use baptismal language that is considered gender
inclusive. For that reason (or perhaps others), they
may perform a Baptism by saying, “I baptize you in
the name of the Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier.”
While those terms (and others that may sometimes
be used) may be Trinitarian in their pattern, they
are more titles or descriptions of God than they are
names of God. Moreover, they could easily lead one
to speak in a modalistic manner that denies the three
persons (e.g., God is only one person but plays three
roles much as one actor might play three different
characters in a play).
Even if the intention is to reference the Father, Son
and Holy Spirit, such formulas raise unnecessary
questions, concerns and doubts for the one being
baptized by departing from the words given us by our
Lord. As Christ’s followers, we are bound to remain
with the words that Christ gave us to use. We therefore baptize using those words in which the pastor
repeats the very words of Christ: “In the name of the
Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

Baptism is normally conducted as a public act in a
congregation as the church gathers in worship rather
than in private ceremonies restricted only to the
immediate family of the one baptized. The reasons
for this are quite clear: Baptism makes us members
of the Church, which is the community of those who
believe in Christ, members of God’s own family as His
adopted children and members of the Body of Christ.
One’s entry into this new, eternal family is cause for
the whole people of God to celebrate and not simply
for the parents and other relatives or close friends.

THE THEOLOGY AND PRACTICE OF HOLY BAPTISM

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(This is not to say, however, that Baptism cannot occasionally be performed in a private setting for various
reasons. And certainly, Baptism administered in cases
of emergency will, by necessity, take place outside the
context of the regular service.)
3. What is the relationship between Baptism and faith?
In Baptism, God gives us His Word, a Word that
bestows the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection. “God has given us His word on it!” But
the promises of God’s Word seek faith and are only
embraced by faith. This is what we mean when we say
sola fide. Not to believe those promises is like throwing them back into God’s face with the words, “I don’t
believe you!”
The key thing to remember is that faith is the means
by which we receive and embrace God’s promises.
The Lutheran Confessions put it simply: “Faith is the
desire for and the reception of the promise of Christ”
(Ap IV 305–306; KW 165). But the activity of believing or trusting is not, in and of itself, the cause of our
salvation. As Luther says in the Large Catechism,
“Everything depends upon the word and commandment of God. ... For my faith does not make baptism;
rather, it receives baptism” (LC Baptism 53; KW 463).
4. When and how does Baptism create faith?

2. Why are Baptisms normally conducted in the
church?

With regard to when God creates faith, we might
revisit Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus regarding
our new birth by the Holy Spirit. There Jesus states,
“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its
sound, but you do not know where it comes from
or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born
of the Spirit” (John 3:8). Picking up on this verse,
the Augsburg Confession notes that the Holy Spirit
creates faith “where and when it pleases God in those
who hear the gospel.” That would include Baptism,
where God has connected His Gospel Word to water
(AC V 3; KW 41).

ADDENDUM: OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT BAPTISM

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So, Luther, commenting on Gen. 35:2, writes: “But if we believed that
God is speaking to us through parents, pastors, and ministers of the
Word, we should feel our hearts inflamed by a wonderful joy. For we
should glory as follows, saying: ‘I am baptized.’ By whom? Was it not by
a pastor? By no means, but by the Holy Spirit. I have been absolved by
the Holy Spirit, by God Himself. Why, then, should I be afraid? Before
whom should I be alarmed? Why should I be troubled about my sin?”
(Lectures on Genesis: Chapters 31–37, AE 6:225.)

THE THEOLOGY AND PRACTICE OF HOLY BAPTISM

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CONCLUSION: JESUS’ BAPTISMAL PROMISE TO US

With regard to how He creates faith, we can say
this much: God does not force someone to believe.
We can also say this: God does not leave it to our
decision (as our will is bound by sin). One of the best
descriptions of the creation of faith that keeps these
two truths in proper tension is found in Article 2 of
the Formula of Concord:

ADDENDUM:
OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT BAPTISM

1. Is it acceptable to use different “Trinitarian formulas” when baptizing?

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of
the Son and of the Holy Spirit … . And behold,
I am with you always, to the end of the age”
(Matt. 28:19–20).

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Although God does not force human beings
in such a way that they must become godly
[believers] … nonetheless God the Lord draws
those people whom he wants to convert and
does so in such a way that an enlightened
understanding is fashioned out of a darkened
understanding and an obedient will is fashioned out of a rebellious will. Scripture calls this
creating a new heart [Psalm 51:12]. (FC SD II 60;
KW 555)
Another way one might express this is that through
His water and Word, God thaws and melts our icy
hearts until they become warm, fleshly, beating hearts
once again.
5. Why does an adult need to be baptized if he or she is
already a believer?
A person who asks this question likely needs to be
(gently) helped to see that this is the wrong question
to ask. Baptism is not something that “we have to do.”
Rather, our Lord is rich and generous in His gifts. He
gives us His promises in the spoken Word (preaching,
absolution), in the visible and tangible word (Baptism,
Lord’s Supper), and in the written Word (the texts
of Scripture). Therefore, we baptize on the basis of
Christ’s command and promise. Baptism’s promises
are rich: Not only are our sins forgiven (Acts 2:38), but
we receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:39), and we are made
members of His Body, the Church (1 Cor. 12:13).
6. When can or should adult converts be baptized?
Can or should we baptize adults soon after they have
believed the Gospel or wait until they have undergone
a course in the catechism? Those who are able to
receive instruction are normally baptized after receiving instruction in the main articles of the Christian
faith. (See 2017 LSCwE, Q. 305.)
However, we must not turn faith into an intellectual achievement, with Baptism as its reward. God’s
promise seeks faith. And faith, in turn, desires and
receives God’s promise (Ap IV 48; KW 128). As God’s
promise spoken to an individual may elicit and create

THE THEOLOGY AND PRACTICE OF HOLY BAPTISM

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faith, faith, in turn, embraces the promise wherever it
is offered and given … including in Baptism. Therefore, it may be appropriate to baptize an adult who
has recently come to faith in response to his or her
request for Baptism. The account of Philip’s encounter with an Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8 provides an
example of a Baptism that follows almost immediately at the time of conversion. Philip first instructed
and then baptized the eunuch at his request on the
same day (Acts 8:36–38). Thus, some might ask why
our normal practice is to catechize adults more fully
before baptizing them. The answer is simply that our
Lord combines Baptism and teaching in Matthew
28 as He explains how we are to make disciples.
We should never separate what He joins together.
Adult catechesis or teaching of new converts should
not be viewed primarily as an intellectual process,
but instead as one in which baptismal faith and life
are succinctly summarized for the newly converted
person by explaining the commandments, the faith
we confess (the Creed), prayer (the Lord’s Prayer),
Baptism, Absolution and the Lord’s Supper.
7. What are the biblical and theological reasons for
baptizing infants?
In a word, Jesus died and rose in order to be their gracious Lord as well. By Baptism, they are taken out of
their previous life as aliens and outsiders and brought
under Jesus’ protection and blessing.
Even an infant stands in great need of such rescue:
“The Word of God also teaches that we are all conceived and born sinful and are under the power of
the devil until Christ claims us as His own. We would
be lost forever unless delivered from sin, death, and
everlasting condemnation” (Rite of Holy Baptism,
LSB, p. 268; see Ps. 51:5; Eph. 2:1–3; Acts 26:18; Col. 1:13).
Jesus Himself has commanded: “Go therefore and
make disciples of all nations, baptizing them … [and]
teaching them” (Matt. 28:19–20) — an all-encompassing mandate which excludes no age group.
When considering infant Baptism, the key questions
are: What is Baptism, according to Scripture? What
does Baptism actually do? Here is what the Bible says
about what Baptism is and does: “He saved us … by
the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy
Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior” (Titus 3:5–6). “Baptism … now
saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but
as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through

ADDENDUM: OTHER QUESTIONS ABOUT BAPTISM

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